Category Archives: River Ram Press

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

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A book review by Kendyl Bryant

smekdayIf you’ve seen the new Dreamworks film Home starring the vocal stylings of Jim Parsons and Rihanna, you might be surprised to learn that it was adapted from a 420-page children’s novel. While the movie is highly entertaining, heartfelt and accessible to all ages, as you might imagine it simplifies the story and loses some fantastic thematics in the process.

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex is written in essay form by the main character, Gratuity Tucci, an eleven year old who had to grow up rather quickly due to her somewhat-flaky single mother…and her mother’s alien abduction which leaves her to make her own way to Florida. You see, when an alien race called the Boov invades, they first need humans to teach them English (humans like Gratuity’s mother) and next they use their new-found English skills to tell all humans…

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An Enjoyably Dark Fantasy – Horns by Joe Hill

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Kendyl wrote a review on Joe Hill’s Horns for River Ram Press and next week, after the film starring Daniel Radcliffe comes out on October 31st, she will be reviewing the movie here on Adaptation!

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Horns by Joe Hill

A Book Review by Kendyl Bryant

Horns Cover

In preparation for the new film starring Daniel Radcliffe and to properly get into the Halloween mood, this month I read Horns by Joe Hill. I’m not into outright horror and thankfully Radcliffe has a habit of choosing the kind of scary films based on books that I do enjoy (e.g. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill). Horns is actually less of a horror novel, and more of a dark fantasy. A really, really dark fantasy. To the point where I had trouble getting through some parts, but also frustratingly needed to keep going so I could find out what was going on.

Horns begins with Ig Parrish waking up from a drunken night he can’t remember to find a pair of horns sprouting from his skull. After a visit to the doctor’s office and a few very off-putting…

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Starting the Season of Scares with Origin of Horror – Frankenstein

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – a book review by Kendyl Bryantfrankenstein_cover

In honor of last month’s premiere of Frankenstein MD, a web series adaptation by PBS Digital and Pemberley Digital, this month I decided to read Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel for the first time. I’ve seen the film, of course, and some other adaptations of the story such as Frankenweenie (2012) and I, Frankenstein (2014) but I had it on good authority that the novel is quite different to the tale that we all know.

The premise remains the same – Victor Frankenstein, obsessed with the science of life, builds an oversized, humanoid being that he brings to life. However, the way that the story unfolds after the creation of the “monster” is a bit of a departure. Shelley’s Frankenstein is disgusted with what he has done as soon as the monster comes to life therefore abandoning the being and…

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Kristin’s Tuesday Touch Base: Inspire Readers!

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Got a lovely shout out from Kristin over on the River Ram Press blog. Have a look!

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Kristin Bergene

HIYA!

Okay Readers, I know you’re waiting for some RRP content in a chapter-book format. Guess what, it’s coming! We have two titles that are currently being developed with us and there is more information to come in the near future SPECIFICALLY on the VERY FIRST New Adult book series that will be published through River Ram Press. I’ll give you a hint on the story line – there are fancy, fantasy beings included!

You can join us with a squeal of excitement now!!!
So many exclamation points.

However, until then, I know the perfect little place online for you to stay up-to-date on all the literature you love and it’s transition into film. As you The Adaptation Podcastcan imagine, this will include a lot of those YA / NA titles that you’ve joined fandoms for / on / about… anyway:

The Adaptation Podcast began just as it sounds, a podcast where several individuals from…

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Judy Blume, Forever in the hearts of teens and adults everywhere.

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Forever… by Judy Blume
A book review by Kendyl Bryant

foreverI’m 26 years old, female, and have just finished my first-ever Judy Blume book. It’s probably a miracle that I’d made it through adolescence considering her reputation for pivotal coming-of-age stories. But, for some reason, I just never picked one up. Thus, my reaction to Forever comes from a slightly different perspective than its intended audience and yet, I thoroughly enjoyed it all the same.

Forever follows Katherine, a senior in high school, from the night she meets Michael and through the couple’s experience with first love. The two share a hopeful, fun outlook and are determined to stay together when they head off to college the following year. But when they have to separate the summer before-hand for jobs in different states, their relationship is tested by distance and new friends.

Blume’s portrayal of first love is beautifully realistic…

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TRB: Behind the Scenes of Chase Pifer’s ‘Non-Compliant’

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Those listeners that have been around a while might remember this guy!

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This past April, I was fortunate to be featured as the Ram Boutique Highlighted Author of the month. Of course, with such an honor comes the responsibility of selecting something worthy to submit. In my case, this meant filtering through a long list of short stories written in a genre blending that is not so commonly seen today. The process was challenging, and as a result also quite rewarding.

I’ve had an interest in utopian and dystopian literature since before my first year at university, and more recently have developed a fascination with blending these two distinct styles with elements of direct socio-political philosophy. This offers me a truly broad range of inspirational works, including George Orwell’s 1984, Sun Tzu’s The Art Of War, John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, and Machiavelli’s The Prince, to name a few.

With such a wonderfully rich body of source material to work from…

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What a waste of good banter!

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Rowell’s Attachments delivers excellent characters in a cliché romcom. It might be a great waste of good characters and witty banter, but it’s definitely worth the read.

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Attachments by Rainbow Rowell, a book review by Kendyl Bryant

Something that might be important to know about me is that I tend towards Sense rather than Sensibility. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good romance and I can ‘ship’ with the best of them, but I wouldn’t call myself a romantic. Rainbow Rowell’s Attachments is for the romantics.

The novel follows Lincoln who has the mildly disconcerting job of monitoring the company email to make sure no one is using it for non-work-related purposes. When Beth and Jennifer start sending long, decidedly personal emails back and forth, it’s Lincoln’s job to read through them and send them a warning. But the correspondences are so quick-witted and charming that he just can’t…

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Will Grayson, Will Grayson – Who can pass up a two-for-one deal?

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Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

A book review by Kendyl Bryant of The Adaptation Podcast.

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It seems that John Green has been all over the book blogs lately given that The Fault in Our Stars film is only a few weeks away and it was recently announced his previous novel, Paper Towns would be following in those film adaptation footsteps. All this press has inevitably sent new readers in the direction of John’s books, looking to follow up TFIOS with another deeply-felt, smart novel.

If that is you, I would humbly recommend that before latching on to John’s solo work, you pick up his collaborative novel with David Levithan called Will Grayson, Will Grayson. The novel centers around two high school boys living in the greater Chicago area and both named Will Grayson. Their story is told in alternating chapters with John…

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Dear Agatha Christie, Excuse my expression of glee despite the high body count.

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And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

A book review by Kendyl Bryant of The Adaptation Podcast.

And Then There Were None was my first Agatha Christie novel, and before I even finished this quick read, I knew it would not be my last. From the first few chapters, the notorious ‘Queen of Mystery’ had me racing through the pages in search of the next clue.

And Then There Were None, sometimes titled Ten Little Indians, starts off with ten strangers traveling to an island off the coast of Devon, each having been lured by a different deception. When they arrive, a recording accuses each person in turn of being complicit in the murder of someone in their past. Soon after, the accused murderers become victims themselves, being killed off one by one, the survivors getting more frantic with each death trying to figure out who…

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Winter’s Tale confuses, intrigues, but is literary fiction through and through

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Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin, a book review by Kendyl Bryant of The Adaptation Podcast

Winter's Tale coverAfter I finished all 750 pages (or more accurately the 27-hour audiobook) of Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin, I had some very mixed emotions. Accomplishment was certainly one, exhaustion another, but I’d be lying if I said the strongest wasn’t confusion. Winter’s Tale isn’t just long; it’s also complicated with at least ten main characters, lengthy descriptions and some fairly advanced symbolism.

But all this doesn’t mean it’s not worth the time and thought that it takes to read it. It just means that the reader should be willing to expend some energy in their trek through this marsh of literary fiction and magical realism.

The story begins in the early 1900s in a New York City that is slightly more fantastical than our own and spans to the turn of the millennium. During that…

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